He may have one of the biggest egos in both the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies, but you can always count on Stargate Atlantis’ Dr. Rodney McKay to help save the day. Steve Eramo recently spoke with actor David Hewlett about playing the self-centered yet likeable scientist.

You played McKay for the first time in the Stargate SG-1 episode 48 Hours; how did that come about?

I think it was (executive producer) Rob Cooper who had seen me in a Canadian TV series called Traders as well as the sci-fi movie Cube. He wanted to have me on SG-1, which was very flattering, but I was in Los Angeles at the time and we just could never make it work.

In fact, in a parallel universe I might have played this innocent alien genius from another world that had built a Stargate or something in his basement using a few bits of wire and other stuff. He was sort of the MacGyver of aliens, but I couldn’t do it and they ended up casting someone else.

So McKay wouldn’t have even happened for me if I’d been available for that first offer. Luckily, when McKay came up, I was free. They called and asked if I wanted to do an episode of Stargate and I said, “Sure!”

What sticks out most in your mind about shooting that episode?

Everyone on SG-1 was terrific, but I dealt a lot with Amanda Tapping [Colonel Samantha Carter] right off the top and she was absolutely lovely. As a guest star it’s always a bit awkward coming onto a show that’s been going for a while and be like, “Hi there, I’m here for four days; care about me.” But Amanda was extremely welcoming and very open to me playing such a jerk of a character. She really let me push the envelope with McKay’s unlikable qualities.

I’ve said this before, but I feel I owe a large part of his success to Amanda. If she hadn’t let me be that comfortable on her set at the time, I don’t think the McKay character would have taken off the way it did.

How did you find your footing with McKay when he moved over to Atlantis?

I always said that we knew who McKay was right from the start, and that Atlantis was about filling in why he was that way. With the other characters we found out who they were over the five seasons, but with McKay, everyone knew that he was an arrogant, unpleasant individual.

However, we then find out why that’s so and we also watch as he learns – well, maybe not ‘learn’ because I don’t think McKay learned anything – but rather discovers that he has this sort of family in the Atlantis crew. I really think that’s what the series was about for him.

Can you talk a bit about your character’s relationship with Colonel John Sheppard, played by Joe Flanigan?

At first it was basically oil and water. McKay said one thing and Sheppard said another – it’s just that my character took a lot longer to say it. Depending, then, on the episode, McKay was either proven right or wrong.

Eventually, however, they found this rhythm with the two of them. I don’t know if it was Joe who originally came up with the idea, but he was the one who first mentioned it to me. Joe said, “We’ve got to be more like Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in the classic movie comedies.” Here are these two guys who are total opposites – one is this suave leading man and the other one thinks he is, do you know what I mean?

Once we started doing that, it was great. I fondly remember those walks and talks on our strangely always forested planets, with McKay and Sheppard whining about something other than what was going on in the episode.

What was it like working with your sister Kate, who guest starred on three episodes of Atlantis?

My favourite quote about working with Kate is when [producer] Martin Wood, who was directing one of the episodes, said to us, “Look guys, you’ve got to remember that your characters are brother and sister.” Kate and I were like, “Well, we are brother and sister,” and Martin said, “Yes, but we’ve got to see that onscreen.” And I said, “No, you don’t. No one in the universe will question that we’re brother and sister. Whether or not we like each other has nothing to do with it.”

The thing is Kate and I have this strange sort of ‘abusive’ relationship where we basically mock each other mercilessly. We’re always trying to outdo each other with insults, jokes, putdowns, whatever, and we brought that to Atlantis. It was a lot of fun. Kate really enjoyed herself and I enjoyed having her around, too. My little sister is without a doubt the funniest woman I know. She’s just a bright light on-set; Kate shows up and people flock around her and they love her.

What did you think of the Atlantis series finale Enemy at the Gate?

I’m not a big fan of Enemy at the Gate. As far as trying to wrap up five years of a show, it just didn’t work. It felt like just another episode, but it really wasn’t. It was an opportunity to do something memorable, to give people something to talk about, but it was an opportunity missed.

I think [the penultimate season five episode] Vegas should have been Atlantis’ swan song. It was so cool, off-the-wall and different for us. I just loved it. The first time I read the script I thought, “This isn’t even an Atlantis episode,” and then I was like, “Well, good!” Can you imagine, people would have been freaking out – what the hell, Sheppard’s dead, and McKay is married? If I was running the show, that’s what I’d have done.

Then again, I’m not smart enough to have come up with most of the stuff those writers have come up with already, which is why I’m acting…

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